Driving Force at NOM Has Epiphany on Civil Marriage

Louis Marinelli, who was the driver of both the "2010 Summer of Marriage Tour" RV and the National Organization for Marriage's social networking presence has told the blog Good-As-You in an exclusive interview that he has had a major epiphany on the subject of same-sex marriage and now supports civil marriage rights for same-sex couples.

In addition to driving the motorhome used for the tour, Marinelli created the Twitter feed and Facebook pages which NOM eventually adopted as its own.

While he still feels that homosexuality is "wrong" and a health hazard, Marinelli now sees religious and civil marriage as two separate things and feels same-sex couples are entitled to the rights and protections afforded by a civil marriage license. While he still considers himself part of NOM, he feels the organization should focus on religious marriage.

Marinelli's views changed, ironically enough, because of the personal encounters he had with gay and lesbian people he met during the NOM tour. He started to see them as "real people" and that "instead of trying to destroy American culture, they just wanted to take part in it." He became alarmed by the hateful rhetoric his social networking efforts had attracted and has distanced himself from some of the more vocal opponents of gay rights. He came out in favor of Don't Ask, Don't Tell repeal in December.

Some of his shifts are more nuanced; for instance, he still takes issue with the LGBT community "tacking onto" the black civil rights movement, saying that gay rights is not the civil rights movement, it is a civil rights movement.

Teenager Comes Out to Entire School in MLK Day Speech

Originally scheduled to sing at a Martin Luther King Day event at Maria Carrillo High School in Santa Rosa, California, Kayla asked if she could speak to her student body instead. Here is her story.



25 years ago the idea of a high school student making a speech like this was about as inconceivable as Dr. King getting elected president in 1968. When we get frustrated at the seemingly glacial pace of progress, let's remember how far we've come.

"We ain't what we should be, we ain't what we gonna be, but -- Thank God -- at least we ain't what we was."

- UNKNOWN

If someone knows who that quote is attributed to, please comment!

Remaining Awake During a Great Revolution

Did you know that the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s last Sunday sermon was preached from an Episcopal pulpit?  He offered these words at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter & Paul (AKA the National Cathedral) in Washington DC on March 31, 1968, four days before he was assassinated.

As the nation attempts to make sense of the Tucson shootings and the degree to which the polarization of our ideals and politics played a role, Dr. King's words remain keenly relevant, especially for those of us whose permission to be full participants in society remains a commodity controlled by others.  Thanks to Fr. Ron Pogue for the link.  Read his thoughts here.